these days

we have been very down and out with a flu bug. or i suspect flu bugs. we went on self-imposed quarantine at the end of last week - and are just re-emerging today. by the energy in the house we are more than ready.

our "house guests" while our neighbours are on their honeymoon - two yorkshire terriers - have as usual made themselves at home. while frustrated by the lack of access to the chooks they seem to be very settled in. and have been very nice for the girls to cuddle with when they are feeling poorly.





good thing we have recovered,

tomorrow is a very big day.

juliet

we are known for our soft hearts when it comes to the lost / needy. esp. of the animal persuasion. not a bad reputation. it has brought us another little turtle. a girl i think. and about 4 years old maybe? unfortunately. giselle (after adolophe adam's giselle) is not happy with her new pondmate juliet (after prokofiev's - via w.s. of course)

we have decided to put another pond in the backyard. a more self-contained one - as juliet is still quite small. we are converting a feed trough. will take pics soon.

and don't worry. i didn't put her on our orla kiely table cloth. this was a little piece in my scrap pile - leftover from turning the table cloth into two runners and napkins.

more tummy trouble here.... oh monday.

progress

at least something around here is making some.







after battling high fevers and upset tummies i have high hopes for the long weekend. (watch for another weekend garden project we are working on over at Jumilla Productions.)



{instructions on folding paper pots (courtesy of d) may be found here.}

inspiring

thanks justine for the shout-out over at the mix tape blog on my 342 project. nice to know you are watching.

what is inspiring me right now:

the colours brown and green

sprouting veggies

palm trees in the heat

"garden anywhere"

my "freighbours"*

happy wednesday!


* more than a neighbour. a friend who also happens to be a neighbour. we've been looking for a new noun to sum it up.

::

happy friday

good, better, best

on a thrifting roll...



these too.

not sure what i think

i thought it was a birdfeeder.

but apparently it is a hanging planter.

i'm not sure i like it.

but it was $2.99 at the goodwill, is stamped made in japan 1976 on the bottom, and has chickens on it. so i bought it.

(that last sentence kind of scares me. i can remember going through a phase in the early 80s where i mentioned i liked cows then was inundated with all things black&white&bovine for many birthdays to come.)

happy monday.

i think it will likely end up here.

all good stuff

i came home from watering and weeding our school garden to find a package waiting for me. really - for the girls eventually - but for now, i am savouring them. (click to enlarge.)





these sweet paintings are by alice dubois. i have never met alice. but i feel connected to her by fate. a painter inspired by rbk, she sent him a picture in gratitude. it arrived in the weeks after his death - and i returned it to alice - telling her how much i thought he would have liked it - and how sorry i was that it arrived too late for him to see.

i have been watching alice ever since. her work often shows the rbk influence and references and i smile when i think how much he would have loved that. when these gems appeared, i couldn't resist.

thank you alice.



on the home front, i found out late in the month, that our modern-shed is shed of the month. check out the pics - and a short interview with me, before the month is over (april where did you go?) over here.

also, i have decided to try chronicling our house-work separately. we will see how it goes. find it at Jumilla Productions in turn i am bringing this space back to its original name - jumilla stories - which seems to fit better than ever. as always - thanks for checking in!

deaccessioning

in my museum-world-circles deaccessioning - "the process of disposing, selling, or trading of objects from a collection" - is often a subject of conversation/debate. especially surrounding estate work. one wants to be sure that a gift to a specific institution is not put up for sale at a later date. clauses are formed and contracts are signed. but there is finite space. museum collections grow - but more often than not, storage and gallery walls, do not. something has to go.

our personal collection - of not just art, but stuff - seems to be at a peak. our walls and storage are full. our mid-century modern-carport-instead-of-garage-and-no-attic-to-speak-of is at capacity. i am trying to deaccession.

i am sentimental. i am sure that is what took me to museum work in the first place.

the kids' stuff is a big issue too. souvenirs that haven't been looked at in years all of a sudden are more precious than life when spotted in the donation box. do you have your kids participate in weeding through their things. or do you do it on the sly?

what is your strategy for letting go?

summer-lovin'

porch-swings




concrete-planters




clothes-lines

rolling along

unplugging

turning off our screens. (work email excluded - sigh.)

see you next week!

home work

2001


today

I have found an old stack of pictures from the first time we walked through the house that has become our home. I can recall looking at them some time ago and thinking I should really put them into an album. Then I thought perhaps I would start up another blog just to document the house. (I even thought up a name.) For now, I am going to try and post more before and after shots here - and document the work that has gone into making this place ours.

p.s. happy unofficial official anniversary cowboy.

my kid

I am watching as my nearly 8 year old walks a line between being a kid and this strange new childhood that surrounds us of high-heeled boots on third graders and reading tigerbeat magazine. she seems to be navigating it more successfully than i am. i revolt at all the "tween" marketing that is thrown our way and contemplate moving to a remote island (you know the one) where these issues might not be so relevant (though perhaps they would be). she seems to take it in stride. picking up a lot from her school friends but choosing wisely where she puts her interests.

she is anxious to see the new hannah montana movie. has a favourite jonas brother. is particular about her footwear but seems to understand that heels are not appropriate at an age when you have so much running around to do.

she spends a lot of time talking to her chicken. is completely into wearing a paper birthday hat at a two year old's party in the park. likes to play that she is a puppy with her sister.

she has found a balance. and i am trying hard to help maintain it.

i love you kid.

happy easter!

campout

Pt. Magu SP (Big Sycamore) :: Leo Carillo SP
one night :: two days
45 minutes from home :: a perfect get-away

we all want to change the world

this weekend, my world was changed.

152 volunteers
670 shrubs
65 trees

a garden

the color of play

green (and purple, yellow, orange, brown, red, black...)



a hike / play at the "farm" only a few blocks from our home.


so happy about the donation of over 600 shrubs and 60 trees for our schoolyard. just need a sign to welcome birds and bugs!

and happy to have been invited to participate in a presentation to the Los Angeles City Council on the value of Community School Parks!

Happy (happy!) Monday

circa 1980

good finds at the goodwill last week. i just couldn't resist this early 80's SFV Girl Scout vest. (and the sheet is rests on. along with a great sewing basket, and three vintage embroidery kits in various stages of completion. oh, and a stove-top espresso pot and vintage 60s plastic tray. goodstuff goodwill.) this piece though took me back. thinking whoever wore it must be my age now. (or likely a little younger, eek.) wondering why and how it ended up in a thrift shop.

that is one of my favourite things about thrifting. the stories each item carries. the ones we can deduce. and the ones we can imagine.

happy sunday

listening

day by day is keeping me busy. in all the good ways.
hope all is well out there...
hannah - i'm working on your request.

p.s. any advice on removing serious lime deposits from an espresso maker?

covered

hannah's link inspired me to pull these out. (the series of bookcover screenprints "In Our Time" by R.B. Kitaj)

they do not belong in a box under the bed.

::

sorry i'm not posting schoolyard pics yet. have a few collected here.

rainy again and i love it.

and very excited to have sandra tsing loh coming to our school tonight. we have invited her as an experiment: public school as community center. i have this little side-dream (apart from the one about a green schoolyard) of a place to gather our community for lectures, learning etc. will see how it goes. she will be speaking about parent activism, the "burning moms" movement, and screening the short documentary on the California Children's Rally she organised last summer.

if you are the neighborhood - and want to join the revolution to improve education funding in california - stop by! (when i put it that way, how can you say no?)

best laid plans

well, not quite the estimated cubic yardage came out this weekend. it was hard hard labour. and could have used another group of volunteers. but it came out beautifully. we did get more than half of it done. and we will be planting around 25 new trees and a lot of plants in it in a couple of weeks. it is amazing how much better the dirt alone looks.

we finished last night in the dark. it is raining today. so i don't have any good after pictures yet...

to the few who supported me this weekend and read here - thank you. i know i say it all the time, but i am truly blessed with the best neighbours in the world.

here are pictures from the little garden that started it all. because i like pictures. and these are a good reminder...